Temptation
by CreativePunk77
Summary: Harry's home for Christmas holidays in fourth year and the three Dursleys, plus one Potter, decide to go out for a meal. Too bad, Dudley's on his diet.


**TEMPTATION**

He'd lost two stone and they were going out to celebrate. To a restaurant. To TGI Friday's, an American Diner that had him salivating at the mere mention of the name. Greasy food was his downfall and the massive portions would send him into a spiral of binge eating that had seen his weight creep up and up over his fourteen years. He had been doing so well on his diet and now, all his efforts would be wasted.

And to top it all off, Potter was coming along for the 'family' meal. Dudley had no idea why the freak was tagging along, but throwing a tantrum over it wasn't worth wasting his energy on. Not that he had a lot of energy left after all of the laborious exercising he had been put through. Losing two stone in three months was dangerous, but the school nurse and his teachers had insisted on him exercising for hours upon hours every week until he was, at least, out of danger. Now he was home for the Christmas holidays and tempted by fate.

Although his clothes were not as tightly fitted as they used to be, he still had to squeeze himself into the car. He yanked the seatbelt across his bulk, ignoring Potter's sniggering and leant up against the window. He vowed to only look at the salad selection on the menu when they arrived, but if his eyes wandered, then who could blame him? He had been starved for days upon end! It wasn't fair. Potter ate lots and lots, more than him, and he never put on any weight! Genetics wasn't kind to him in the slightest.

' _At least I don't have freaky magic powers. I'd rather be big than a freak.'_

He turned his attention away from the window, from the various chains of restaurants they passed, to stare at the back of his mum's head. His parents were bitching as usual, and there was no chance in hell that he'd get away with eating a healthy meal. Mum would coo at him like a fucking mother hen and slowly pile more and more food onto his plate until his stomach was swollen and Dad would encourage him, goading him to out-eat him to prove who had the biggest appetite. Before the health warnings and freaky tongue incident, he would have lapped all of this up, but now, now he gagged at the sight of greasy fatty foods and just wanted to eat a salad.

Dudley sighed forlornly, drawing a confused look from his cousin, Harry bemused at the older boy's expression of emotions. Surely Dudley was incapable of feeling so down? He only seemed to have limited emotions and Harry was looking forward to this meal, to laugh at his childhood tormentor so that his worry over the rest of the Tournament could be pushed to the back of his mind.

Dudley blinked out of his daydreaming when they pulled into the restaurant's car park, dread settling into his stomach. The feeling was unnerving and he needed to hit something with his fists, whether it be his punching bag or the person sitting right next to him. He was going to fall into the pattern of binge eating that had plagued his life and for once, Dudley was frightened of his own actions.

His parents were climbing out of the car and he found himself unable to take his eyes off of his Dad. Growing up, he had aspired to be like him, to follow in his footsteps. He had a position waiting at Grunnings when he left school and everyone always commented on how father and son looked so alike. When his weight had been no issue for him, he relished the comparison. Now, he took in the struggle of an obese man, the memories of feeling out of breath and dragging his feet along the pavement making him feel physically sick. He didn't want to go back to that state ever again.

' _I'm getting salad, screw it.'_

The walk up to the restaurant and the seating of the family was over in a blink of an eye and feeling the familiar rough edges of a restaurant menu sent Dudley into a panic. All he had to do was open the damn thing and look straight at the salad selection, he'd pinch himself to not look at any of the other treats on offer if it came to it. But it was so hard when his Dad was raving about the new steak and burger combination they were offering for a limited time only. As his Dad started reading out the components of the meal, Dudley felt his fingers clutch the menu tighter, perspiration breaking out onto his forehead.

' _Why does he have to go into so much detail? Shut up, shut up, shut up!'_

Harry didn't even bother looking at the menu, just slumped back in his booth, looking battle weary in Dudley's eyes. Like he'd been fighting some hellish creature at his freaky school. They all knew the routine. Vernon would be ordering Harry's food for him and most likely, it would be something that Harry loathed so that he barely touched it. Price would be a big element of the decision too, though Dudley was still puzzled as to why Harry had been brought along. Couldn't they have a simple family dinner in peace without any freakish outbursts?!

The waiter came along at that point to take orders for drinks and Dudley found his vocal cords working of their own accord, the word 'water' slipping out before he could even debate choosing a fizzy drink. His cousin gave him a weird look and Dudley crossed his meaty fingers in the chance that Harry wouldn't start questioning him.

"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning."

Too late.

"What?"

"You ordered water, Dudley. You never drink water."

Shoulders tensing, he rounded his small eyes onto the skinny figure beside him. "Your point?"

Harry's eyes flashed in amusement. "You've always guzzled down fizzy drinks like your life depends on it _and_ I'm not going to get started on your eating habits."

Dudley's nostrils flared at the jab and as he always did, he turned to his parents for 'protection' against his cousin.

"Mum, Dad, he's calling me a pig. He can't say stuff like that!"

Vernon leant forward, the table creaking as he shifted his weight forwards, his voice a harsh whisper. "You best leave my son alone, boy, or you'll be watching us eat with an empty plate!"

Petunia simply grinded her teeth together, Harry rolling his eyes in response. "So it's fine for him to say cruel things about my parents? We all know your son is not going to stick to his diet. Watch, he'll order fattening foods."

"No, I won't." Dudley hissed, slamming the menu shut onto the surface. He clenched his fists under the table, so wanting to put his new boxing skills to the test on his cousin's face. Harry scoffed, watching as a waitress approached their table, notepad at the ready.

"Are you ready to order?"

"We certainly are." Vernon licked his lips, stating his order quickly, not wanting to have to repeat himself. The waitress noted it down in a quick scribble, Petunia curling her lip as she took her eyes off of the hideous interior design and onto something else that aggravated her; the girl's messy handwriting.

"And for my nephew, I will have the salmon just by itself. He's not a big eater."

Dudley didn't bother containing his snort. Harry hated salmon.

"And for you, Madam?"

"I will have this salad." Petunia pointed a perfectly polished fingernail at the salad she wanted, as another waitress put their drinks down in front of them. Dudley grabbed his glass of water, sipping from it, his teeth clinking on the rim. He was perfectly fine. All he had to do was order the same salad his Mum was having and then just resist temptation of dessert.

He could do it. Willpower had never been his strongest suit, but now it had to be. He had to prove to everyone he could do it. Especially prove it to the git next to him who was unfortunately blood related.

"And for you, young man?"

The squeak of his voice made him curse the stage of puberty he was in as he ordered the salad, ignoring the raised eyebrow from the boy beside him and instead focussing on the proud looks of his Mum and Dad. He was surprised, expecting them to chastise him lovingly, then order something bigger for him, but they didn't. Just sat back in silence. He smirked. He could do it, he knew he could do it.

' _Now all I've got to do is eat the damn thing.'_

Picking leaves out of his teeth, Dudley's stomach grumbled on the car ride home. He gagged, his tongue extending out of his mouth, thankfully not to the floor like a few months ago. The salad had been vile, but he had forced it down, then patiently folded his hands together as his father had tucked into a huge dessert, Harry shuddering over the salmon and his mother checking her appearance in her handheld mirror to make sure that she was still perfectly neat as ever.

Dudley pulled his tongue back in and leant his head against the window. He wished he had never grown so large, he hated being on the diet.

' _Wish my parents had stopped me eating so much when I was a kid. This sucks.'_


End file.
